Ali wasn't born a champion, Dundee made him one by knowing how to handle him

'Get your left up, Champ,’ would have been the command from Angelo Dundee. ‘I’m too pretty, I’m too clever, I’m too fast to worry about that.’ You can hear his retort with the machine-gun delivery, can’t you?

And then when Henry Cooper took advantage of Ali’s dropped leading left, pulled down towards his side as he danced around the ring, Angelo might well have asked: ‘Why don’t you listen to me?’

Ali was a genius, but he had an ego and Dundee had to be selective with his instructions.

‘I left him alone, I just smoothed out a lot of stuff,’ Dundee once said in an interview. ‘I made him feel like he innovated it. If I was the guy that gave him directions, he’d say, “Hey, who’s this midget to tell me what to do?” No, I never gave him a direct order. The only time I told him what to do was in the ring.’

Winning partnership: Dundee missed only two of Ali's fights

Ali already had the talent when they came together in 1960 - you can’t teach what he had - but Angelo finessed his ringcraft, turned him into a champion, guided him to the top.

He worked with Ali for 21 years and only missed two of his fights. Their relationship was close, but Ali must have been difficult to work with at times.

A fighter must have the ultimate trust in his corner man.

The English equivalent to Dundee was George Francis; he knew all the tricks. When to rile you, when to calm you. He was a marvellous motivator.

Ali once said of Dundee: ‘He didn’t train me, because I didn’t need training, but he coached me. No bossing, just coaching. He’s there when I need him.’

He was a guide and mentor and, as much as anyone, he was essential to Ali’s glory. They made some team, didn’t they?